It’s our second day in Iran – a country at war, and its capital, Tehran, tense and subdued. Many have fled, those left behind carry on as best they can.
There is the regular sound of outgoing anti-aircraft fire and the thud of incoming missiles. We are told that police stations and checkpoints are being targeted regularly.
But in just two weeks, people no longer register the sounds of war nearby.
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At the market, people were shopping at the end of the week ahead of Nowruz, the Persian New Year. Shoppers shared their fears and concerns, most reluctant to do so on camera.
It’s not just a war, it comes after weeks of protests and subsequent repression.
Some expressed hope that some kind of change might come after the conflict, but most had more pressing worries: Last night’s bombing came so close that no one knew how this would end.
After a marathon journey of 48 hours through the snowy passes of the Armenian border IranWe entered Tehran.
Most striking are the faces of Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei and his assassinated father, ubiquitous, on huge banners on highways. Officials are trying to continue.
The face of Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei and his assassinated father is ubiquitous in Tehran.
The government appears to be firmly in control but the new leader has not appeared in public. Dr Saeed Khatibzadeh, Iran’s deputy foreign minister, insisted he was very much alive and ‘in charge’ when we interviewed him.
His message was angry and defiant. He insisted that the war had no order and was illegal. And as speculation grows about America’s next move, He had an ominous warning to the enemy.
He told us that the US leadership should remember Vietnam if it is thinking about putting “boots on the ground” in Iran. That was the act of a rogue nation and the US regrets it, he said.
We have been here for a week, one of the few international news teams granted visas for now.
The capital is scarred by war
The capital is also marked by Israeli and American air strikes. Entire buildings are razed. Strikes can be called precise and on target, but try telling that to an elderly man we found in the blackened ruins of his apartment after a missile came close to him early in the war.
The attack took place in the afternoon without any warning. The blast wave blew in the windows and filled the flat with dust and smoke. When it settled, he found his wife and daughter injured, peppered with shrapnel and broken bones.
He was operated on at the hospital but had to leave as soon as possible. We are told that several hospitals have also been hit. He is recovering but his house is destroyed.
And 24 hours a day, the people of this city have to live with the thought that the building next door is also on the target list and they might be next.
